


Restfield

by maryperk



Category: Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Genre: F/M, Future Fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-26
Updated: 2014-08-26
Packaged: 2018-02-14 21:53:53
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 10,193
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2204415
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/maryperk/pseuds/maryperk
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Twenty years post NFA and Buffy's final death, Spike takes one last mission for the Council to discover if an elusive woman is a Slayer.  Written for Spuffy Wonder's 2010 Spring Art to Fic.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

“Spike, I need you to check out an unsubstantiated rumor of a Slayer in a small mountain retreat village called Restfield.” Giles held a file out towards the vampire. 

Spike glanced at the file, but he didn’t take it from the elderly Watcher. “Why not send Pinocchio?”

“Liam has already tried, but he was unsuccessful,” Giles replied with greater patience than he had anticipated when dealing with Spike. After dealing with the humanized Angel, and his massive ego, the sardonic vampire was a piece of cake. Mmm, cake. Giles let his mind wander to his housekeeper’s delicious German Chocolate cake.

Spike realized that Giles’ mind had wandered when the hand holding the file slowly dropped towards the desk. He was glad he didn’t have to worry about old age causing his mind to get potty. He cleared his throat rather noisily.

Giles shook his head to clear his mind. Then, he got on with his explanation. “His attempts to seek out the woman in question were thwarted at every turn. That’s why your special talents are necessary.”

Spike let out a snort. “I don’t know why that pillock insists on being called Liam.”

Giles peered over his glasses at Spike. “If it had been you to Shanshu, you wouldn’t have gone back to being called William?”

“I don’t bloody think so,” Spike grumbled. He finally took the file from Giles, and he opened it to look at the information. When he glanced at a map of the village, he let out a surprises grunt. “This village of yours looks remarkably like Sunnydale.”

“Liam thought so too.”

“Oh, Liam thought so.” Spike shuffled through the papers. He caught the notation that there was very little demonic activity in Restfield, but then a picture caught his attention. He picked the photo up to hand to Giles. “Looks like I’ll get to catch up with my old buddy, Clem.”

“You know this demon?”

“Yeah, Clem’s an alright guy. Knew him back in Sunnydale. Even the Slayer liked Clem.” 

Spike only called one girl the Slayer. Those since Buffy were always called Slayerette, except for Faith who was either Rogue or Champagne. Neither Spike nor Faith ever bothered to tell anyone the meaning behind the second nickname. However the vamp’s heart just wasn’t in dealing with Slayers anymore. Especially not after losing Buffy yet again before they even had a chance to reconnect following his ghostly ejection from the amulet.

Giles’ face saddened at the mention of his long lost charge. “You don’t have to go until after the memorial on the fifteenth.”

Spike shook his head. It had been so long since Buffy had saved the world yet again by jumping through a rift threatening every creature on Earth. For Spike, the pain of the loss was still as fresh now as it had been twenty years before. The only thing stopping him from meeting the sun was the worry that suicide would make his hard earned soul unable to find Buffy in the hereafter. William’s long ago church training still influenced Spike’s thinking. “I refuse to listen to old Angelus blather on about the cookie dough theory again. After hearing it for twenty years, I’m getting sick of it. I’ll just stop in a bar somewhere and get bloody pissed to commemorate Buffy’s life.”

Giles studied the bleached blond vampire for a few minutes. “This is going to be your last assignment, isn’t it?” Even his loosening mind had seen the signs and signals that Spike showed lately.

Spike gave a small nod of his head. “Maybe in twenty or forty years when all you lot are dead and buried, I’ll come back. There’re just too many reminders right now.”

Both Brits knew it was a lie. Spike would never return to the Watcher’s fold. He had already made a valiant try to put Buffy’s death behind him. Being around the Scoobies did nothing but remind him of what he missed the most.

Liam stumbled into the room. He had heard through the grapevine that Spike had a meeting with Giles. He wanted to rub his humanity in the vampire’s face again. It was an ongoing pleasure, especially after the fight over the cup so many years before. “There you are, Spike. You know if I couldn’t get that girl to talk to me, you don’t have a chance in hell.” Liam preened by fluffing his graying hair.

Spike gave Liam a cool once over. The ex-vampire really had packed on the pounds since turning human. To tell the truth, Liam’s reputation wasn’t much better now that he was human again either. “Don’t need to get close. I still have my built in Slayer radar, don’t I? Not like some people.”

“What are you doing here?” Giles demanded. “You are supposed to be on your way to Saudi Arabia, Liam.”

Liam turned to Giles. In a haughty voice, he answered, “That assignment is below my skill level, Giles. I demand something more appropriate.”

Giles raised one eyebrow. “I’ve had to send people in to clean up after your last four assignments.” He pointed to Spike. “He’s here to clean up your latest. Before that, I had to send Willow.”

“I have no idea what you mean,” Liam said. He gave a wave of dismissal. “If there was any clean up needed on the Milanesi Project it wasn’t my fault. Armida was completely happy with what I did for her daughter.”

“You traumatized the poor girl, you pillock. You can’t be trusted with the new Slayers,” Giles snarled. “I should have known that when you were sniffing after Buffy that you liked little girls too young to make their own decisions. I’m just glad you had moved on by the time Dawn arrived on the scene.”

Spike let out a snort. “Dawnie wouldn’t have given old Angelus the time of day, Rupes. Remember, she’s quite brilliant at staking her vampire dates.”

“Are you implying Buffy should have staked me?” Liam sneered. 

“If the shoe fits.”

“She should have staked you,” Liam growled.

Spike caressed the area above his heart. “What makes you think she never did?” He stood up, tossed the file on the desk in front of Giles, and sauntered towards the door. “I’ll let you know what I find out, Giles. I’ll ring you up in a fortnight.”

“I don’t know why you keep him around,” Liam muttered. “He’s just a waste of space.”

Spike’s enhanced hearing allowed him to hear Giles’ grumble.

“Bloody hell, is it too early for a drink?”

“Never too early, Watcher. Have one on me,” Spike threw back over his shoulder. He had places to go and people to meet. Liam would never cross his path again, and Spike couldn’t be more pleased.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Spike rolled into the little resort town of Restfield just before dawn. It was a Tuesday morning, no less. He hoped that wasn’t a foreboding sign of what was to come. Spike pulled his bike up in front of the cabin that his Intel had told him belonged to his old buddy Clem. He made his way up the walk.

When Clem heard the knock on the front door, he wondered who would be coming by for a visit so early in the morning. Most of his pals were in bed by the time the sun came up. There weren’t many in his circle of friends that actually spent any time out in the sun. There was one, but even she hid under the cover of darkness most of the time. Clem’s jaw dropped in surprise when he saw his visitor.

“Spike, long time, no see,” Clem said in a loud, happy voice. “It’s been a kitten’s age, hasn’t it?”

“Hey Clem, Giles sent me to suss out the situation that good old Angel fucked up with his overgrown forehead,” Spike replied.

“Well, come on in.” Clem stepped back to let the vampire past the threshold. No matter how much time passed, he’d always trust Spike in his home. “You must tell me how Angel became Liam. I didn’t think there was any way for that to happen.”

Spike stepped past Clem. “Prophecy, mate. I take it this Slayer isn’t too keen on becomin’ part of the establishment?”

Clem gave a noncommittal shrug. “I don’t think she works well with others, Spike.”

Spike clapped Clem on the shoulder. “I could care less whether she wants to work with the Watchers or not. I just need to hear that from her own lips to give in my report back to Rupes.” He looked around the small living room of Clem’s cabin. “I’m just hopin’ for a place to crash b’fore the sun pops up over the horizon.”

Clem had a thoughtful look on his face. Spike was just what the Slayer needed to get her out of her self-imposed doldrums. She wouldn’t even let him call her by her name anymore. She only answered to Slayer now. If anyone on earth could piss her off, it was the bleached blond vamp standing expectantly in his living room. “There’s an empty cabin across town on Revello Drive.”

“I knew the town looked like Sunnydale from the air, but that’s damned spooky even for me,” Spike muttered.

“I was homesick,” Clem shrugged. He went to rummage around in a sideboard drawer for the key to the cabin in question. When he found it, he tossed it to the vampire. “The only thing I didn’t copy was the Hellmouth.”

“Thank bloody God for small favors,” Spike replied while he caught the incoming missile. He glanced at the number engraved in the metal. “Oh joy. Old lady Neilson’s house. Did you remember to put up roses around it?”

“No, but you can plant some while you stay there if you want,” Clem answered.

“Think I’ll pass, old buddy.” Spike moved to the front door. “Guess this means there’s a Willy’s out there someplace.”

“Yep.”

“Meet me there after sundown? You can give me the lowdown on the happenin’s in this burg.” 

Clem’s features brightened. “Then some kitten poker?”

“Sounds like a plan.” Spike gave Clem a wave good-bye before he sauntered out to his bike. 

Clem listened to Spike’s transportation roar away. He thought about picking up the phone to warn the Slayer, but then he decided that she needed a good shaking up. Instead, he went to bed.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*

The Slayer sat in the back of the diner where the sunlight couldn’t penetrate. While she nibbled at her breakfast, she listened to the conversations flowing around her. She had felt the presence of a familiar vampire in town. She wondered – not for the first time – if her past had caught up with her. However, since it was daytime, she decided she’d let it slide until nightfall. The Slayer scooted back into the shadows and ducked her head when the sheriff and his deputy strolled into the restaurant. It wasn’t that she was hiding from them. She just wasn’t up to their sympathy at that moment.

“There’re some vandals in town, Sheriff,” Deputy Arlo Simmons said to his boss while they sat down across from each other in a booth.

Sheriff Cindy Corderman grabbed the menu before she looked at Simmons. “What happened?”

“Some idiot ran over the ‘Welcome to Restfield’ sign.” Simmons grabbed his own menu. He smiled up at the waitress. “Two coffees please, Jack.” He turned back to Corderman. “They even took the time to stop and spray paint the word ‘Sunnyhell’ across it.”

The Slayer’s head popped up. The name Sunnyhell sounded very familiar to her. A wary smile crossed her face. No wonder the vampire tingles felt so familiar. If there was one thing Spike enjoyed, it was a spectacular entrance. It was just like the observant vampire to notice Restfield’s similarity to Sunnydale. The Slayer wished she could see Spike’s face when he finally saw ‘his’ crypt in the Sunnydale Memorial Cemetery. 

Then, just as quickly as it grew, the Slayer’s smile vanished. Spike would have a much easier time finding her out than the humanized Angel. If Spike even got a hint that it was her here in Restfield, he wouldn’t rest until he knew all her secrets. The Slayer knew she needed to be careful.

Over at the police officers’ table, they had finished ordering their breakfast, and they were enjoying their first cup of coffee of the day.

“Check to see if there are any newbies in town,” Corderman told Simmons.

“Clem had a friend show up this morning.” Simmons took a sip of his hot drink. He blew on it when he realized how hot it was. “There’re also a couple of customers over at the Restfield Motor Inn.” He put down his cup, and he pulled out his notebook. 

The Slayer didn’t bother to listen to anymore. She had a sneaky, loose-skinned demon to see. She threw some cash on the table before she rose to slip out the back of the diner. She made it to Clem’s house without being seen by any of the locals. The Slayer slipped inside Clem’s house, and she waited for him in the living room. She had more patience now than she’d had in the past.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*

Clem stumbled into his living room while humming under his breath. The thought of kitten poker with his old buddy made him bare his sharp teeth in a huge grin.

“Careful there, buster. You might scare someone with that smile.”

Clem let out a shriek. He whirled around with his hand on his heart. “You scared me, Slayer. You shouldn’t sneak up on me like that.”

The Slayer crossed her legs. On the outside she was a cool as a cucumber, but inside her stomach felt like there was a flock of butterflies trying to take flight. “I hear an old friend is in town.”

“H-How did you f-find out?” Clem stuttered.

“Well, Spikey always liked to make a grand entrance.” The Slayer tilted her head to the side. “He knocked down the ‘Welcome to Restfield’ sign. Spray painted it too, by the sounds of it.”

“He says he doesn’t need to see you, just hear from you to report back to the Watchers.”

The Slayer leaned forward into the light. Her scarred face twisted sadly. “I can’t go back. You know that, Clem. I was just tool for them to stop apocalypse after apocalypse.”

“I don’t think that’s what Spike’s here for,” Clem said. “You don’t even have to face him. Just talk to him on the phone. I’ll even dial.” He edged towards his cordless phone.

The Slayer sat back. “Fine, I’ll talk to him. The sooner he leaves, the better off he’ll be.”

Clem picked up the phone. “He still loves you, you know.”

“You’ve seen me, Clem. How could anyone love this?” The Slayer indicated her body. “It’s hideous.”

Clem shook his head while he dialed the phone. He was pretty sure Spike wasn’t that shallow. Now if he could just convince the Slayer and Spike to see each other. It didn’t take long for Spike to answer the phone.

“What?” Spike barked into the receiver. 

“Hey, Spike. I have someone here that wants to talk to you,” Clem replied. He held the phone out to the Slayer. “Here he is.”


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

The Slayer took the phone from Clem. “I hear you’re looking for me?” She was sure that Spike wouldn’t recognize her voice, but there was always the chance she was wrong. Certainly her voice had changed over the years. The heat that had damaged her outer body had seared her insides as well.

Spike was alert in an instant. He certainly hadn’t expected Clem to call with the Slayer ready to talk to him. “So, you are a Slayer. What’s your name, luv?”

“I have no name, and I’m not your love,” the Slayer said.

“People have to call you something,” Spike observed.

“I don’t associate with people. The demons just call me Slayer.” The Slayer glared at Clem when he opened his mouth to speak.

To Spike’s sensitive ears, there was a familiar quality to the Slayer’s voice. He knew the longer he made her talk, the easier time he’d have to recognize it. “Are there any other demons in town b’sides Clem and me?”

The Slayer chuckled. “There’s a couple of fledges getting ready to rise tonight. They’re a couple of idiot rich kids that I couldn’t sneak in to stake at the funeral home. Restfield sure isn’t Sunnydale. No denial factor happening here.”

Spike decided whatever was familiar about the Slayer’s voice wasn’t anything he could put his finger on. He didn’t remember ever hearing a voice as husky as the one pouring through the telephone. He went over all the Sunnydale potentials in his mind while wondering which one this Slayer possibly could be. He was pretty sure all the eldest Slayers were accounted for, but he could be mistaken. “So, you knew good old Sunnyhell? That denial factor was the Hellmouth’s influence.”

“I knew Sunnydale and the Hellmouth.” The Slayer tapped her fingers on the arm of Clem’s chair. “Now that you know I’m the Slayer, you can leave Restfield.”

“You’re not _the_ Slayer. You are a Slayer.” Spike laughed. No one had the right to call themselves the Slayer expect Buffy, and she was long gone from this Earth. “What should I tell the Council?”

“Whatever the hell you want to tell them, but I won’t work with them.” Buffy ignored the correction to her status. She wasn’t about to tell him that she was the Slayer she knew he referred to.

“Don’t blame you there, pet.”

“And yet, you work for them.”

“Tell you what. We get together for a drink, and I’ll tell you m’story,” Spike suggested. He had a feeling that the Slayer wouldn’t go for his proposal, but he couldn’t help himself.

The Slayer let out a slightly disgruntled sound. “I told you, I don’t associate with people.”

“Since when have I been people?” Spike plopped down on the cabin’s bed. “I’m still a vampire.”

The Slayer let out a sigh. Throwing Spike off her trail was going to be harder than she thought. Angel, or Liam as he was called now, was easy to mislead and send on his merry way. Seeing him in the sun again after so many years made her wonder what she’d ever seen in him.

“You still there, Slayer?” Spike asked after a few moments of silence from the other end of the phone. He could hear the woman breathing. So, he knew she hadn’t hung up. Spike didn’t notice that he’d called another by the title he used only for Buffy before.

“Tell the Council that I’m a Slayer, but I want to be left the hell alone,” The Slayer finally said. “There are enough Slayers out there now that they won’t miss just one.”

“I have two weeks b’fore I have to report in,” Spike replied. “If you change your mind, I’ll be hangin’ around, catchin’ up with my old buddy Clem.”

“I won’t.” The Slayer handed the phone back to Clem with the thought of ditching Restfield for a few weeks until Spike left town.

Clem put the receiver up to his ear. “See ya later, Spike?”

“Sure, mate.” With that, the two old friends hung up.

The Slayer gave Clem a nod of appreciation before she slipped away from his house to her own. She kept her head down while she moved swiftly through the streets. She had learned a long time ago how to compensate for her injuries.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*

Spike sauntered into the Restfield version of Willy’s Alibi Room a couple of hours after sunset. It was surprisingly quiet for a demon bar, and the clientele was well-behaved. Spike could tell he was the only vampire in attendance. Most of the other demons appeared to be the peaceable type that probably didn’t bring the Slayer’s attention to themselves.

“Spike, over here.” Clem waved from a table in the back corner. “Come meet my friends.”

Spike stopped by the bar to grab a bottle of Jack Daniels before he continued on to the table. He slid into the chair across from Clem. “These your poker buddies?” he asked.

Clem nodded with such vigor that his skin flaps slapped together. He clapped the man next to him on the shoulder. “This is Richard Jones. He’s an Uixa demon. He’s got the Grind House tattoo parlor downtown in the Magic Box location.”

Spike tilted his head in greeting. He’d heard of Uixa demons before. “Thought your lot usually worked as translators,” he said while he poured himself a drink.

Richard shrugged. “Some translations are too beautiful for mere sound.”

“Don’t think you remember Zoof over there,” Clem said. “He owned the Rusty Beaver strip joint back in Sunnydale.”

Zoof let out a sneeze that sounded like his name. “Sorry about that. Allergic to cats, you know.”

“And you’re gonna play kitten poker with this lot?” Spike laughed. 

“Can’t seem to help myself.”

“The short guy is Pete.” Clem indicated a doll-like man seated on a pile of phonebooks. “He had a magic shop in Los Angeles.”

Pete slowly opened his eyes. He fixed his eyes on the vampire before he said, “Before it went to Hell.” His eyes drifted closed once again.

Spike gave the small man a salute. “You can thank Angelus for that one. I just tried to keep it from going more to Hell.”

Clem grunted at the ex-vampire’s name. “You were going to tell me how he became human, Spike.”

“Prophecy, mate. Good old fashioned prophecy.” Spike knocked back a swig of his drink. “Can I just say I’m glad it was him and not me.”

Pete laughed. “It was never meant to be you, my boy. Destiny has other plans for you.”

“Oh boy, here we go again,” Richard muttered. He rolled his eyes. “Pete knows things. Too bad for him it doesn’t help him win at poker.”

Pete’s eyes drifted open again. “Of course it does, Richard. I’m just willing to spread the love.” He looked at Spike. “The Siamese needs to go home with our newest friend. He needs a companion, and Kos will be the perfect ice breaker.”

“You’re an odd one, Pete,” Zoof chortled. “I think that’s why I like you.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*

A few hours later, Spike found himself staggering back to his cabin, drunk as a lord and with a new companion. A Siamese kitten peeked out of the inside pocket of his duster. Spike reached in to caress the kitten’s head with one forefinger. “So, Pete tells me your name is Kos. What does that mean?”

“Meow,” Kos said.

Spike chuckled. He continued stumbling in the direction of his housing when he came across the cemetery. He stopped to stare up at the name with blurry eyes. “Sunnydale Memorial Cemetery,” he muttered. “In Sunnydale, it was the Restfield. In Restfield, it’s the Sunnydale. Backwards, I tell you.”

“Meow,” Kos said.

The sound of fighting distracted Spike from everything else. He crept forward when his danger tinglies went off. Maybe he could catch a glimpse of the elusive, people-avoiding Slayer.

“What’s the stick for, little girl?” the dirt covered vampire asked. He popped up out of his grave to find a human waiting for him, and he admitted his stomach grumbled quite loudly.

“This stick?” The Slayer twirled her stake. With a swift kick of her foot, she knocked the vampire back into his own headstone. “This stick is going to give you heartburn.” 

The young, dumb jock vamp struggled to his feet. He tilted his head to the side while he tried to figure it out what the human meant. How on earth could a piece of wood give someone heartburn?

“Damn, do they make you stupider every year?” The Slayer gave the stake one last twirl before she hit the vampire square in the heart. She shook her head while it crumbled to dust. “There is just no one that appreciates my well thought out puns anymore, or maybe I’m losing my touch after all these years.” She limped away completely unaware of her hidden audience.

Spike stared at the spot where the Slayer had disappeared. Her face had been hidden the entire time he watched her. There was something so familiar about the Slayer, even with her limp. Spike knew he had met this woman before. He just wasn’t sure when and where it was, and what did she mean by years?.

“Meow?” Kos interrupted Spike’s thoughts.

“I suppose we should get home,” Spike replied. He was busy going over the Slayers he had met over the years. He would figure out who this woman was or his name wasn’t William the Bloody.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

“Meow.”

The Slayer looked up from her newspaper. Sitting outside the screened portion of her backdoor sat the cutest little Siamese kitten. It put up one paw to tap the door as if it was knocking.

“Can I help you?” the Slayer asked.

“Meow,” the kitten demanded while it tapped again.

“I suppose you think this is home.” The Slayer sighed when she realized she was chatting with a cat. “You’ve been alone too much, woman. Now you think a cat understands you.” Hearing Spike’s voice the night before reminded her of how lonely her existence was now.

“Meow?” Another tap sounded in the quiet room.

“Oh, all right, you can come in, but you can’t stay.” The Slayer put down her newspaper, and she rose to hold the door open. “I’m sure someone will be missing you soon.”

The Slayer sat back down at the table, and she went back to reading the news. In a few seconds, she had a lapful of purring kitten. Woman and feline stayed in the same position, enjoying each other’s warmth, for about twenty minutes before the Slayer carried the kitten to the front porch where they curled up in the swing.

“Kos! Where is that soddin’ cat?”

The Slayer’s head shot up from where she was dozing off. The familiar man’s voice came from the house across the street. _Clem wouldn’t do that to me, would he?_ She cautiously got to her feet, and she snuck forward to peek through the bush that covered part of her own porch. Standing across the street, out of the rays of the setting sun, stood a vision out of a Slayer’s smutty fantasy.

“Meow?”

The Slayer turned around to shush the kitten. “He’ll hear you. Then, he’ll come over here.”

“Meow.” The kitten sounded full of enthusiasm at the Slayer’s words.

“I don’t think so, kitty. I’ve spent the last twenty years avoiding almost everyone who knew me before.” The Slayer looked back at the Siamese. “I’m too scarred for anyone to want me, even Spike. He’s liable to run away in disgust. I can’t even stand to see myself.” She looked back at the vampire pacing back and forth across the street as he waited for the sun to fully drop out of sight.

“Meow.” Kos stood up, and he jumped off the swing. After a big show of rubbing against the Slayer’s ankles, he trotted off across the street.

“There you are, Kos. Have you been out carousin’ and causin’ trouble on your first day of freedom?”

The Slayer watched as Spike bent over to pick up the kitten. He petted the fur for a few moments before he brought the kitten to his nose. She wondered if he’d recognize her scent after all the intervening years.

“You smell as pretty as a picture, Kos. Looks like you’ve found yourself a lady friend.” Spike turned around, and he went back into his house.

The Slayer let out a sigh of relief before she snuck back into her own home. Maybe there was still time to go on that vacation she thought she should go on while Spike was in town. She knew she was being a coward when it came to him, but things were so different now.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*

Spike picked Kos up, and he petted the kitten for a few seconds before his fur ruffling caused a sweet, vaguely familiar scent to waft to his nose. He couldn’t help himself. He had to get a closer whiff. As he smelled Kos’ hair, he eyed the street. He couldn’t see anything, but that didn’t mean much. “You smell as pretty as a picture, Kos. Looks like you’ve found yourself a lady friend.” With that, he turned to go inside.

“Been out gallivanting around all day, Kos?” Spike asked the kitten as soon as they were inside the house. He strolled into the kitchen where he scrounged around until he found a can of tuna to open.

“Meow.” Kos licked one paw with indifference.

“Your lady friend smells familiar.” Spike put the fish on a plate, and then put both down on the floor for Kos. “Was it the Slayer?”

Kos gave a haughty sniff at the plate before he pounced on the food. He purred while he ate, ignoring his owner.

Spike let out a chuckle. “Be that way. I’ll just have to find out on my own.” He grabbed his duster from a nearby chair, and he let himself out the back door of his cabin. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*

The Slayer peeked out her window for the umpteenth time. Spike’s cabin was still dark, and she was sure he was out. She just hoped he was off with Clem again and not lurking around in the darkness someplace. She wanted to do a quick patrol otherwise her damaged muscles would get stiff. Usually patrol didn’t produce anything these days. Restfield mostly had quiet, friendly demons like Clem.

The Slayer slipped out the back door of her cabin. She pulled a lightweight ski mask down over her face. She usually didn’t wear anything to cover her facial scars, but tonight she wanted to be careful, just in case. She set off towards Sunnydale Memorial Cemetery. 

The Slayer strolled among the tombstones until she came around from the back of ‘Spike’s crypt’. She stopped in her tracks when she realized that the vampire in question stood in front of the stone building staring up at his name engraved above the door. She took a step backwards into the shadows.

“Buffy,” Spike whispered. “I miss you so fucking much.”

The Slayer took another step backwards until she bumped into a tombstone. Whatever noise she made didn’t distract Spike from deep within his musings.

“A few more days and I can get fallin’ down bloody drunk in your memory.” Spike let his eyes drift shut. “At least I won’t have to listen to _Liam_ this year. Why the hell did you tell him you were cookie dough? Pillock.”

Clem came up behind Spike. He noticed the Slayer standing off to the side, upwind of course, watching the vampire. Maybe she needed to hear how much Spike missed her. Maybe that would get her to talk to him. “Missing Buffy, huh?” he asked.

“Every minute of every day,” Spike muttered. “I’m just glad Red did a spell this time to make sure Buffy was dead and in heaven instead of bein’ trapped in a hell someplace.”

Clem’s eyes shifted to the Slayer. He had seriously thought she was dead when he’d found her mangled body. A dark-haired vampiress surprised him on his way to the Council by popping out of the shadows. _The naughty Slayer who stole my boy still shines bright. Bad, bad Wankers try to put out the light. Face now will give them a fright. You must hide her from their very sight._ It was enough to make Clem take the Slayer away from everything to this retreat in the mountain.

“Couldn’t do that to her again. Pullin’ her from heaven last time near about killed her.” Spike let out an unnecessary breath of air. 

Clem smirked at the Slayer. “If she appeared in front of you right now, what would you tell her?”

“I’d tell her how much I love her and miss her, mate. Beg her to stake me so I could join her. Living has no meaning without her.”

“What if she wasn’t the same?” Clem clapped a hand on Spike’s shoulder. “What if she was damaged somehow?”

Spike opened his eyes, and he gave Clem a suspicious look. “I love her, you know that. I wouldn’t care if she turned into one of those Fyral demons like her Watcher did that one time.” He shrugged his shoulders. “Yeah, the shaggin’ would be brutal. I probably wouldn’t survive it, but what a way to go. Bein’ loved to death by my woman.”

“Good to know, buddy,” Clem replied. “How about we hit Willy’s again? I’m sure Pete and Richard would like a rematch on the kitten poker.”

Spike put his arm around Clem’s shoulders. “You’re on, but I’m keeping Kos.”

Clem led Spike away. “You named the kitten Kos. What’s that mean?”

“King of Siam, of course.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*

Spike wasn’t as drunk as the night before. His gait was much less like staggering and looked much more like strutting than before. Fighting in an alley caught his attention while he walked along the darkened street. Spike strode into the narrow crevice between two buildings. Once there he found a dark clad feminine being fighting with two big lumbering demons that spit green ooze.

Spike stopped for a moment to admire the woman’s fighting style. It reminded him of Buffy’s, and he decided that the late Slayer must have trained this new one. This meant that whoever this was, she was older than anticipated and had flew under the radar for years. Maybe he could get a few more answers now.

Together, the Slayer and the vampire made short work of the demons, but not before one of creatures sliced through the Slayer’s shirt and back with a long, fierce talon. The Slayer let out a pained grunt that made the vampire fight all the harder.

Spike dropped the demon’s carcass onto the dirty pavement. “Are you alright, pet?”

The Slayer gritted her teeth. She might be immortal now, but it still hurt when something took a chuck out of her. “Just hurts like a son of a bitch. No biggie though. Slayer healing and all.”

“Let me take a look.” Spike stepped close enough to see pained green eyes hidden behind a lightweight ski mask.

“No, that’s okay.” The Slayer stepped backwards until she bumped into the wall, smearing blood across the surface. She let out a hiss of pain. “I can take care of it myself.” She took off down the street as fast as she could run.

Spike watched the skittish Slayer bolt away. He stood there thinking about what he’d seen, and he realized that the skin around the woman’s eyes was scarred. Maybe that was why the Slayer didn’t want to be found. Maybe she was too embarrassed by her face and body to be around others.

Spike inhaled deeply. The scent that lingered on Kos’ fur hung on air of the alley, and he knew that the kitten had visited the Slayer that day. Then, the scent of Slayer’s blood assaulted his senses. Spike stepped over to the wall where he dipped one finger into the red substance. He brought the digit up to his nose to breathe in the bouquet of vampire ambrosia. He had a soul, but he was still a vampire driven by the need for blood.

Spike’s eyebrows shot straight up to his hairline. “No, this can’t be right,” he muttered. “It couldn’t be her.” He plunged his finger into his mouth to taste and savor the blood.

It was!

It was her blood, but how could that be?

“Buffy.”


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

The Slayer ran as fast as she was able. She hadn’t planned on getting that close to Spike, and now long suppressed surged memories to the forefront of her mind.

_Buffy laced her fingers through Spike’s, and their hands burst into flames, burning a scar into their palms. She looked up into his eyes while her own filled with tears. “I love you,” she said softly, pouring all of her feelings into her words._

_“No you don’t. But thanks for saying it,” Spike answered._

_Another rumbling shook the earth causing Buffy to lose her grip on Spike’s hand. How could he say she didn’t love him after insisting for so long that it was true? She felt her heart break again when Spike shouted over the rumbling._

_“Now go! I wanna see how it ends.” Buffy ran out of the cave, her heart shattered once again._

The Slayer clutched one of her gloved hands. The scar on her hand paled in comparison to the others on her body. If Spike rejected her back when she was physically unblemished, what would he think now? His confession at the cemetery confused her. He had to remember that he rebuffed her confession of love. 

This feeling of rejection and unworthiness was compounded by a conversation the Slayer heard a few months later when another smaller apocalypse threatened humanity.

_Buffy put her hand on the door of the meeting room. The gang needed to talk about the latest disaster on the horizon. She paused when she heard the others all ready speaking inside the room._

_”What did you find out, Willow?” Kennedy asked._

_“We need to wait for Buffy,” Andrew said. “She is the leader.”_

_Kennedy let out a hiss of disapproval. “No, she’s not. Everyone in this room knows that Willow is stronger than Buffy ever thought of being. Now tell us about the rift, Willow. What is going to close the damned thing once and for all?”_

_Willow’s reluctant voice sounded through the air. “The only way to close the rift is the blood of a Slayer.”_

_Dawn chuckled. “Guess Spike was right. It’s always the blood. Really though, we need to wait for Buffy.”_

_Kennedy’s irate voice rose above the others. “Yeah, and now she’ll be asking for volunteers. It’s not going to be me this time.”_

_“Nobody asked you to volunteer for anything ever,” Faith said._

_“It’s not like she’s willing to sacrifice herself. Damned prissy bitch. If she wants someone to sacrifice themselves, I suggest she does it herself. Right, Willow?”_

_“I-I guess…” Willow’s reply didn’t sound too sure._

_Buffy turned away, unable to handle hearing more from her friends. She had thought Willow and she had connected again, but she guessed she was wrong. Spike didn’t want her, and now her friends were acting the same. If the rift needed to be closed, she was the Slayer to do it. Buffy slowly climbed the stairs to her room where she changed into clothing more fitting of the Slayer, and she snuck out the upstairs window._

_**WHAT BUFFY DIDN’T HEAR** _

_“That’s way out of line, Kennedy,” Dawn snarled. She rose to her feet, and she glared at the bratty Slayer. “If anyone in this room has sacrificed enough, it’s been Buffy. Did Willow ever tell you where Buffy was when she resurrected her?”_

_“No, she didn’t. I just assumed she was in some hell dimension,” Kennedy said in a haughty voice. “It would certainly explain why she has so many personal problems.”_

_“Well, that’s where your assumption makes an ass out of you,” Dawn replied. “Buffy was in heaven, and that wasn’t even the first time she died to try to stop an apocalypse. I think my sister has sacrificed enough for the world.”_

_“I’ll do it,” Faith said. “It’s time to have some glory all my own.”_

“Thought I’d finally have my one good day,” the Slayer muttered. “Cellular sunburn my ass.”

The Slayer slowed down when she got a stitch in her side. While she needed daily exercise to keep her muscles from getting stiff, too much of a work out caused them to lock up. The cool rain didn’t help matters much either. She limped into the Sunnydale Memorial Cemetery with the certainty that she had lost Spike in the rain.

_”Buffy what are you doing?” Faith screamed when she realized that there was already someone at the edge of the rift. “Is this why you didn’t show up for the meeting last night?_

_Buffy looked over her shoulder at her sister Slayer. “Someone has to, and asking for volunteers is much too casual for me these days. See you on the flip side, Faith.” She ran out across the field, and she leapt into the swirling blue vortex._

_“Buffy! No!” Faith screamed._

The Slayer sacrificed herself for the greater good. Again. That wasn’t the big surprise though. It was what happened later that was the bombshell.

_Buffy inhaled deeply as pain flooded her system. She hurt too much to be in Heaven, she decided. She must have made it to Hell this time around. After all, no one said you could get to paradise a second time around._

_“Careful, Slayer,” a familiar voice said._

_Cool compresses pressed against Buffy’s heated skin. “Lum,” she uttered deep in her throat._

_“Yeah, it’s good old Clem. I thought you were dead. No heartbeat equals dead, even I know that,” Clem babbled. “That crazy dark haired vampiress that came by that one time for Spike said you weren’t dead. What is her name?”_

_Buffy let out a groan when she tried to move her limbs. There was so much pain she didn’t think she was going to live long enough to feel better ever again. Instead, she tried to concentrate on Clem’s words. “Ru,” she gurgled._

_“That’s right Drusilla. She found us while I was taking you back to the Council after I found your body.”_

_“air ind?” Buffy gurgled again._

_“Where did I find you?” Clem stopped his ministrations towards the Slayer’s wounds. “Strangely enough, Cleveland. Last I heard, you were stationed in Rome.”_

_“Y nut ded?” Buffy mumbled from parched lips._

_“I’d say you’re immortal now, Slayer.” Clem let out a puff of air. “Gonna take more to kill you than normal. You better not let the Council know, or they’ll be expecting you to do all the suicide jobs.”_

_Buffy let out a moan. Her ex-friends would definitely go for that. There was no way she would go back to the Council ever._

_“I don’t think these wounds are gonna heal, even with your Slayer healing,” Clem muttered. “Damned magical wounds.”_

_‘Doesn’t matter,’ Buffy thought. ‘I never want to be around people again. You end up getting your feelings and heart hurt too much. It’s time to look out for number one.’_

For twenty years, the Slayer had kept that motto firmly in the forefront of her mind even when she learned that Spike had survived burning up in the Hellmouth ten years after the event. It was then that she had come to Restfield to hide away from the world. She had almost bleeped on the Council’s radar one time too many by that time. Seeing Spike with a young, pretty, unblemished Slayer had just been too much to take.

Thankfully, a phone call from Clem had brought her to this little township. In that moment, she decided it was time to move on. The Council had found her, and if they found out her identity they wouldn’t give her a moment’s peace.

The Slayer found herself at ‘Spike’s crypt’. She was about to slip inside when a masculine voice interrupted her.

“Buffy?”

“Buffy’s dead. You know that,” the Slayer said in her husky voice.

“I love you.”

The Slayer let out an irony filled chuckle. “No, you don’t. But thanks for saying that.”

“What the bloody hell is going on?” Spike grabbed the Slayer by the arm, he swung her around, and he pulled off her mask. His eyes drank in her features while her long blond hair swirled around her head.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

“I’ve bloody well been mournin’ you for twenty years, Slayer,” Spike growled. “There is no bloody way that I don’t love you.” He pressed closer to Buffy, and he smashed their lips together for a few seconds before the Slayer pulled away from him.

“Let go of me.” The Slayer brought a fist up to hit Spike on the head, but the vampire caught the hand before it could connect. Her knees had almost given way when he pressed his cool, rain-covered lips to her own, but she had to be strong. “Get out of my town, and go back to whatever Slayer you’re fucking now.”

Spike hissed through his teeth. There was no one on the planet that made him go from zero to fuming mad as fast as Buffy could. As happy as he was to see her alive, he wanted to know why she had been hiding from him and her friends for the past twenty years. “Only Slayer I’ve ever shagged was you, Buffy.”

Buffy jerked her arm away from Spike. She was amazed that the only emotion in his face was anger, and not the disgust she was sure he would be feeling when he saw her features for the first time. “I saw you with her! Why else would you be escorting a Slayer around?”

“Because it was my job to teach a few of them, you bint!” Spike crowded closer to Buffy. “Why did you let us all think you were dead after you closed that soddin’ rift?”

Buffy shook her head. “Because none of you wanted me.” She fluttered one hand in the air. “I finally tell you I love you and you reject me. My so called friends thought I should sacrifice myself yet again so they wouldn’t have to. I took that decision out of their hands.”

“What on earth are you blathering on about?” Spike shouted. “I didn’t want you to be trapped in that hellhole with me. When I was rudely ejected from the amulet as a ghost, my first thought was of you! I love you, Buffy Summers. I always have, and I always will. Your friends and Dawn miss you every damned day.”

Buffy shook her head in denial. “Leave my town, Spike. I don’t want you here.”

Spike got a sly look on his face. “Tell you what, Slayer. We’ll fight. If you win, I’ll leave Restfield.” He didn’t have any qualms about lying to Buffy. Now that he found her, there was no way he was going to leave her ever again. What Spike was counting on was the chemistry that had been between them back in Sunnydale.

“Sounds good to me.” Buffy punched Spike in the nose. 

Spike staggered back with a laugh. “You’re gonna have to hit harder than that, Slayer, if you want to win this fight.”

“Go away, Spike.” Buffy advanced on the vampire. “I can’t love you anymore. I stopped those kinds of feelings years ago. It’s easier to be alone.” She punched Spike in the face again.

Spike grinned. “This reminds me of another fight, pet. You were actin’ like a poor little lost girl back then too. Only this time you’re tryin’ hard not to fit in anywhere. You won’t let anyone in to love you.”

Buffy kicked out at Spike. “That’s because nobody loves me, you idiot.”

“No, you’re the idiot, Buffy!” Spike growled. “Didn’t I just tell you I love you?”

“You don’t even know me anymore.” Buffy gestured towards herself. She felt a sob catch in her throat. “You loved me because I was beautiful. I’m not beautiful now!”

Spike let out an exasperated sigh. “Not only are you an idiot, Slayer, but you’re a stupid idiot.”

“Really? Tell me, could you really love this?” Buffy choked out a sob while she ripped the tight turtleneck from her upper body. She stood in a tank top that clung to her body due to the rain that was still falling. Her neck and upper chest showed burn marks and pockmarks from the rift she had leapt into.

Spike suppressed any reaction he had to the damage on his Slayer’s body. That wasn’t what she needed right then. What she needed was confirmation that she was still as beautiful to him at that moment as she had been on that distant past night at the Bronze. 

Spike leered at Buffy, and he curled his tongue behind his front teeth. He let one hand slip down to caress the cock that had hardened the first moment he realized that Buffy was alive. “Strippin’ down for me, luv, is not gonna make me wanna leave town.” He advanced on the now flustered Slayer.

Buffy stepped backwards away from the advancing vampire. This wasn’t the reaction she had been expecting at all. She thought for sure he’d run away screaming from the grossness that decorated her body. “S-Spike,” Buffy stuttered. 

Spike continued to stalk towards Buffy. “The first thing I’m gonna do is snog you until you believe that I love you. Then, I’m paddlin’ your arse until you plead for forgiveness for hidin’ from me for twenty soddin’ years. Lastly, I’m gonna put my mouth on every last scar until you believe that you’re as beautiful now as you’ve always been.”

Anything Buffy might have said was muffled beneath Spike’s lips. She had been without physical contact from another person for so long that she was unsure what to do with herself. Finally, she buried her hands in Spike’s wet curls, and she allowed herself to feel for the very first time in years. Buffy had no idea how bereft she actually was until Spike pressed her against the wall of the crypt. There was no hiding exactly how excited and ‘happy’ he was to see her.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*

Later Buffy found herself naked in Spike’s bed nestled between two purring bodies. Kos nestled against her stomach while Spike curled around her back. The vampire had done everything he had promised to do to her. 

First, they had both fought for domination during their wet snogfest until Buffy had finally pressed the advantage. Spike and she were half naked in the rain before they slammed into the interior of the crypt. Clem had fixed the building up to look exactly like Spike’s abode in Sunnydale. It was there that they engaged in the second of Spike’s promises to his long lost lady love. Buffy’s behind still stung from the paddling he had given her.

When Buffy shivered from being wet and cold, Spike bundled her off to his cabin where he stripped her down naked despite her protests, and he examined her body very carefully from top to bottom. Then, he tumbled her into his bed to use both his hands and mouth on her body until she was a quivering mass of pleasure.

“Do you finally believe that you’re beautiful, pet?” Spike’s husky voice interrupted Buffy’s internal musings.

Buffy chuckled. “Maybe you better start convincing me again.”

“Now, that’s a request I can do, Slayer.” Spike pulled Buffy close, and he glided his mouth over the scars on her left shoulder. 

Spike knew Buffy and he still had many issues to settle, but there was no way he was going to let the Slayer slip away from him again. She had gasped out her story under the precise and persuasive sting of his hand, and Spike knew that there had to be more behind the story than just Buffy’s self-esteem problems. They both had plenty of time to figure it all out.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

SOME TIME LATER

Lorne strolled into the small demon bar. He’d never been in such a peaceful establishment before. At least one that wasn’t protected by the Furies that is. He glanced around before he directed his shuffling companion to sit in the corner booth.

Then, Lorne sauntered over to the bar where he ordered a Sea Breeze. While he waited for the bartender to check around for the drink, he surveyed the room. In a corner booth, Lorne spotted a familiar bleached blond head. He observed his old comrade for a few minutes.

Spike sprawled in his seat with a smirk on his face and his eyes glued to his cards. He petted the cat perched on his knee almost absentmindedly. 

“What did you bring the cat for?” Elmer, a newcomer to the kitten poker game, asked. He thought the other players were pretty eccentric, but a vamp with a pet cat was the strangest thing he’d seen in awhile.

Spike looked up from his cards. “Slayer says Kos here needs a companion. He’s here to pick out a girlfriend.”

Elmer gulped loudly. “There’s a Slayer in town?

“You be a good little demon, and she won’t bother you.” Spike’s smirk turned evil. “Otherwise?” He made a cutting motion across his throat. “She’ll hunt you down and make you sorry.”

Elmer looked around at the unworried demons at the table. Then, he shrugged. He could be a good demon for a few days, but maybe Restfield wasn’t the town for him. One more card game to recoup his losses, and he was on the road for Vegas.

The bartender finally placed a Sea Breeze next to Lorne’s elbow. “Sorry, man. Spike told me to get those ready for a big green friend. They got hidden behind the buffalo wings.”

“No problemo,” Lorne said. He grabbed the bottle of Sea Breeze before he strolled towards the vampire. “Hey, Spikester.”

Spike’s face broke out in a wide grin when he saw Lorne. “Hey, hey, it’s Jolly Green. Come on over and join the game.” He quickly introduced Lorne to this poker buddies and vice versa. Then, he set Kos on the table next to Pete, and he spoke to the cat. “When you see a chit you want, tell Pete. He’ll win her for you.”

“Meow.”

“Let’s go talk,” Spike said. He led Lorne away from the poker table. “Were you able to cross to the motherland and do what I asked?” 

“I just flew in from London, and boy, are my arms tired,” Lorne joked. “But seriously, it wasn’t that hard to get that old crew of yours to sing like a flock of canaries.”

“Did you find anything out?” Spike’s attention was suddenly captured by Lorne’s companion, and he let out a growl. “I thought he was dead.”

Lorne put a calming hand on Spike’s shoulder. “When Angel asked me to kill him, he conveniently forgot about Wolfram and Hart’s death contract. I destroyed poor Lindsey’s brain with that blasted gunshot to the head.”

“So, you decided to keep him?”

Lorne shrugged. “Couldn’t just leave him at the mercies of the demons in Los Angeles. Can we get back to business?”

Spike stared at Lindsey for a few more seconds before he shook his head. “Yeah, fine. I get it. Doesn’t mean I like it much. So, you got the Scoobies and their hanger-ons to sing? Whatcha learn?”

“None of those I watched sing were mojoed up as much as your girl,” Lorne replied. “The red haired witch reeked of being manipulated. The others not so much.” 

Spike tapped the rim of his glass. “Any ideas who was behind the manipulations?”

It seemed impossible that Lorne could have turned any greener than he already was, but it happened. “I never thought I’d hear anyone who could sing worse than Angel, but clearly I was wrong. Even Lindsey winced, and he’s pretty out of it these days.”

Spike grimaced. “Someone got the rich bitch drunk, huh?”

Lorne shuddered dramatically with his own grimace. “Apparently. I don’t know what was worse, hearing her sing or reading her aura.”

“That bad?”

“Well, I don’t normally read the past when I see someone sing, but with her… Oh, baby, it was bad. All kinds of badness surrounding that dark one.” Lorne let out a sigh. “She’s the one behind all the magic and manipulations.”

Spike growled deep in his chest. “She was always jealous of Buffy.”

“She’s caused twenty years of dissention in the ranks,” Lorne commented. “What her money can’t buy, she coerces with magic.”

Pete appeared at Spike’s elbow. “The cards told me you were in need of me.”

Spike peered towards the poker table. “Did Kos find himself a friend?”

“Yes, a sweet little smoke grey Persian. He’s a happy camper,” Pete replied. “Now on to your Slayer problem.”

Spike gave his small friend a suspicious look. “Did you know about the spells before I came?”

Pete shook his head. “I only met the Slayer after you introduced her to me. She was quite reclusive before you swept into town, Spike, my boy.”

“What can you do, Pete?” Spike asked. “The way I hear it, the older the magic, the harder it is to break.”

Pete patted Spike on the arm. “Ah, but when you’re as old as I am, everything is young.”

“Just how old are you?” Spike asked.

“Now, now, my boy, a gentleman never brags about his age,” Pete said with a chuckle. “First, I’ll work on the Slayer. I’ll even put a protection spell around her. Then, my Junia and I will have an umpteenth honeymoon to England. How does that sound?”

“What will it cost me?”

Pete burst out laughing. “Can’t get anything past you, Spike. All I ask for is the pick of the litter from every litter that Kos and his dear one produce.”

“It can’t be that easy,” Spike pondered. 

“It won’t be.” Lorne broke into the conversation. “Your Slayer has twenty years or more of bad thinking to overcome. At least she won’t have the magic squashing her efforts now.”

Spike nodded. “Well, let’s get started then. Let me collect Kos and his lady friend.” He rose to his feet with supernatural grace. “You stickin’ around for awhile, Lorne?”

Lorne gave a noncommittal shrug. “Haven’t any place to go. Might be nice to settle down for a change. Lindsey is tiring of the travel.”

Spike nodded his head towards the poker table. “Tell Clem I said to find you a place to stay.” Then, he and Pete left the demon bar with two purring cats.

Several days shortly after meeting Lorne, Pete performed the spells on the Slayer. Spike awoke mid-morning when he felt Buffy rise from their bed. She hummed tunelessly while she got dressed. To Spike she sounded almost happy. He rolled over to snuggle up to her pillow for a few more minutes before he got up to check on her.

Hours later, Spike surfaced into wakefulness. He stumbled from the bed to tug on his jeans and shuffle out into the main part of the cabin. There he found Buffy puttering around in the kitchen, still humming to herself. “You’re in a cheerful mood today, pet.”

Buffy looked up from the cake she was frosting. “I woke up feeling good this morning.” A bright smile crossed her scarred face. “I felt like a heavy weight had been lifted from my shoulders.”

Spike nodded. It appeared that Pete’s magic had worked. “What have you made there?” He peered at the cake.

“I went to the store by myself for the first time since moving here,” Buffy replied. “I used to pay Clem to shop for me.”

Spike eyed the sweet confection sitting on the counter. He looked up at the Slayer with a teasing glint in his eyes. “I hope your cooking has improved over the years, pet.”

“Oh you.” Buffy grabbed up the nearby towel, and she threw it at the vampire. “Just for that, you get to wrestle the Fyral demons I learned came to town last night.”

Spike jumped out of the way of the incoming missile. “It’ll be my pleasure.” He let out a bark of laughter. “Now cut me a piece of cake, wench.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*

“Are you sure this is the place, Giles?” Dawn asked into the phone. She looked at the cabin at 1630 Revello Drive, Restfield. “Spike has finally moved on from Buffy, and I need to make sure that this girl isn’t out to hurt him.”

Giles let out a sigh. “Yes, Dawn, it’s where Spike said he was going to be staying for awhile. I know you want to meet this woman, but why did you have to leave me with all the Kennedy fallout?”

“I’ve been telling you for years that the bitch had a contract with the devil, Giles,” Dawn replied with no remorse in her voice. “It’s nice to know my instincts are correct.”

“Fine, fine. You’re right, I’m wrong. That’s where Spike is staying. Have fun.” Giles hung up the phone. A few seconds later, he stared at the phone wondering why he was holding the confounded contraption.

Dawn stepped up onto the porch. To one side was sheltered area with a swing. On the swing two cats curled up together with their tan and grey furs blending in together. Swallowing her nervousness, Dawn lifted one fisted hand to knock on the door. Inside she heard several shrieks of feminine laughter mixed in with Spike’s deep, husky familiar baritone.

When the door opened, Dawn’s jaw dropped. “Buffy?”

The End

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: This was never meant to be more than a reconnection fic between our two favorite characters.


End file.
